21 January 2014     

iBasis and Sparkle to Peer for LTE Roaming and Signaling

iBasis, a KPN company, and TI Sparkle, Telecom Italia Group’s international operator, today announced an LTE Roaming peering agreement that will ensure interoperability between LTE networks and a consistent user experience for roaming LTE subscribers.

The LTE roaming peering between iBasis and TI Sparkle is an extension of an existing IPX inter-provider interconnect agreement the two companies implemented in 2012 which enables live traffic including signaling, voice and data roaming, as well as end-to-end QoS.

The new agreement further develops the global IPX ecosystem, which continues to grow as an increasing number of interconnected operators add value to their propositions with new IPX- enabled solutions such as LTE roaming.

“Providing seamless LTE roaming to mobile service providers through our Diameter Signaling is very important for TI Sparkle as it fulfills our promise of developing solutions that provide and facilitate interoperability among operators. We are pleased to expand our partnership with iBasis and enhance our existing multiservice IPX connection to make LTE roaming an easier proposition for operators and their end consumers,” states Elisabetta Ripa, TI Sparkle Chief Executive Officer.

“As mobile operators complete their LTE roll-outs in their national networks, they are beginning to recognize the complex challenges of meeting customer expectations for a consistent LTE experience anywhere, any time. Our LTE Signaling eXchange service solves the technical challenges, and peering agreements like this one with Telecom Italia Sparkle are vitally important to deliver the global footprint required to make LTE roaming a reality,” said Willem Offerhaus, iBasis CEO.

About Telecom Italia Sparkle Diameter Signaling solution
LTE™ Diameter Signaling roaming solution is TI Sparkle latest addition to its IPX+ multi-service portfolio with the aim to simplify global roaming complexity. Built on the company’s leading global IP network, the LTE™ Diameter Signaling roaming solution provides scale and reliability for mission-critical operations and enables MNOs to fast track their roll-out of LTE™ roaming in a cost-effective and scalable manner, while creating differentiation in a highly competitive marketplace. Sparkle Diameter Signaling solution currently supports a comprehensive global reach of more than 80 networks in 40 countries, through interconnections with both customers and selected peering partners.

About the iBasis LTE Signaling eXchange
The iBasis LTE Signaling eXchange (LSX) service provides a single point of access to iBasis’ live 4G (LTE) signaling network with Diameter Routing Agents in key locations around the world and complemented with 2G and 3G MAP Signaling interworking services to non-LTE networks. Through direct connections to many mobile operators’ LTE networks and its open peering policy, iBasis delivers a global LTE Roaming footprint that reaches approximately 60 LTE networks. In addition, iBasis offers a trial environment for testing LTE interworking and roaming scenarios.

About iBasis
A wholly-owned KPN company, iBasis is a leading international voice carrier and a provider of data services and solutions for mobile operators. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of voice termination services and data services, including messaging, signaling and roaming, for many of the world’s largest fixed and mobile operators, as well as voice-over-broadband service providers. iBasis customers include KPN and its mobile operators and more than 1,000 other providers, including Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile, China Unicom, Skype, TDC, Telecom Italia Sparkle, and Telefonica. The company has recently launched lteroaming.info, a blog site providing insights about LTE roaming, VoLTE, IPX and related topics. Find out more about iBasis at www.ibasis.com.